Crabby
I was ten years old or thereabouts
& Family and I were on a picnic.
Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Grandparents.
Yep, we were all there.
I remember a pond being there too
& I don’t recall if we fished but, we looked at, pondered and pestered water critters that day.
All day.
We especially loved the crabs.
Long story short, Cousin and I decided we wanted, we needed, we must, Must, MUST have a crab.
They were so darn cute….!
Can we take one home ?!? canwecanwecanwe ??
They would make THE most perfect pet, Cousin pleaded with her parents and
I to mine.
Please Please PLEASE
Promise Promise PROMISE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Astonishingly, both sets of parents said YES.
Most likely just to shut us up but, hey, whatever works.
& so …
Cousin and I put our crabs and their water in a cup, Family and I piled into our station wagon,
Cuz and her peeps gathered up
& gleefully we all headed home.
Brothers, Sisters and I were so very happy to have a new member of our family.
A crab !
YIPPEE !!!!
On the way back to our house though, is where the tide turned.
We made a stop at Granny and Grandpa’s house.
A dish or something or another needed to be dropped off
& I don’t exactly know who’s foot or how in the world it happened but, the crab and his cup were tipped over as we pulled into their driveway.
uh
MOM ??!!????
& as that little crab made his way out of his brand new, temporary hideaway, panic set in
& I do mean PANIC.
Yelling ! Crying ! Flailing !
Siblings and I just couldn’t get out of that car fast enough.
RUN. FOR. YOUR. LIFE.
& yet, I’m extremely happy to report, we all survived.
The crab though ?
um
Dad put him back in the cup and threw him in the alley garbage.
& I didn’t care.
My BFF and I were now enemies and I was traumatized.
TRAU MA TIZED
Just so you know, I had many a nightmare about that wiggly guy, starting that very night and well into infinity.
I was convinced he made his way out of the garbage, back in the car and into my bedroom.
Once there, his evil quest was to forever crawl on me and seek his revenge.
Nowadays, Family and I laugh about the origin of my creepy crawly fear
& I never asked but, hmmm.
Whatever happened to Cousin’s tiny pal ?
Oh, if critters could talk.
Ooooooooh, if critters could only talk.
“… & there we were, minding our own business …”
gee.
I wonder if Mr Crabby had nightmares about me too ?
🙂
